UltraLinx » AppListshttp://theultralinx.com
Web magazine covering high quality tech, gadgets, design, art and photography.Tue, 03 Mar 2015 18:00:30 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1Best Music Players For Androidhttp://theultralinx.com/2013/12/best-music-player-apps-for-android.html
http://theultralinx.com/2013/12/best-music-player-apps-for-android.html#commentsWed, 04 Dec 2013 17:02:25 +0000http://theultralinx.com/?p=40821Ability to listen to music is one of the most basic functionalities of a modern smartphone. As far as Android platform is concerned, there is a huge number of apps designed to play your favourite tunes. While some of them look great, but are extremely simple, others are feature-packed audio powerhouses lacking visual polish. Nonetheless, […]

Ability to listen to music is one of the most basic functionalities of a modern smartphone. As far as Android platform is concerned, there is a huge number of apps designed to play your favourite tunes. While some of them look great, but are extremely simple, others are feature-packed audio powerhouses lacking visual polish. Nonetheless, given their variety and availability, everyone should easily find a music player that will suit their needs. We’ve highlighted a few that – in our opinion – are the most interesting and offer the perfect balance of usability and design.

Google Play Music is the default music player on all new Android smartphones and tablets. It has replaced the old-and-ugly Music app and everyone is thankful for that. The app’s most important feature, apart from ability to play music stored locally, is integration with Google’s own music shop and streaming service. With Google Play Music, you can browse millions of songs and save them in the device’s memory as well as create custom radio stations and enjoy it without skip limits. While the app itself is free, but for the Google All Access streaming service you’ll have to pay £9.99 per month.

As far as the design and features go, Google Play Music is a simple, yet beautiful app. It blends smoothly with other Google apps and has an intuitive interface in orange-white colour scheme. The player is equipped with handy lockscreen music controls and allows you to create playlists with your favourite songs in addition to browsing music by artist and album.

This player stands out from the crowd due to its incredibly polished user interface and smoothness. It is elegant and easy to use. Features offered by the free version are rather limited, but doubleTwist Player Pro (available as an in-app purchase) offers a great value for the money. In addition to basic functionality you’d expect from a music player, it is equipped with equilizer, high-quality album art downloader, podcast management and wireless music sync with iTunes. Moreover, the app can stream your tunes to numerous compatible devices, such as the Xbox, PlayStation, Sonos audio system oraz Apple TV.

musiXmatch is one of the few music players that can display lyrics. Actually, it was designed with this purpose with mind and other features are just neat additions. The app integrates with your default or third-party player and downloads lyrics for songs in the library. It has, however, interface of its own and allows you to browse songs by artist and album as well as create playlists. Furthermore, musiXmatch supports scrobbling to Last.fm and with a Shazam-like built-in functionality, it can quickly identify that song you’ve once stumbled upon, but can’t recall the title.

This is one of the most powerful music players available in the Google Play Store. It is packed with so many features, that it is easy to lose track of them. Poweramp plays all popular media files and offers support for playlists in a variety of formats. There is also a graphical equalizer with custom presets, separate sliders for Bass and Treble adjustment, dynamic queue, tag editor and built-in Last.fm scrobbler. As far as playback goes, user can apply crossfade effect and set up replay gain. The player can display lyrics thanks to aforementioned integration with musicXmatch.

By default, Poweramp doesn’t look particularly appealing. However, it can be heavily customized with first- and third-party themes that can be applied not only to colour schemes, but also buttons and backgrounds. For instance, with just a few taps you can give it a modern, Holo-ish look or make it mimic the iOS 7 music player. Depending on developer, themes can be both free and paid. Now playing screen background that adopts the colour dominating in the cover art is a nice little touch, too.

Poweramp offers a free 15-day trial. After that period, you’ll have to pay to continue using it. The full version of the app is quite pricey, but after half a month with it, you probably won’t mind it.

PlayerPro is Poweramp’s greatest competitor. Just like it, PlayerPro is equipped with tons of customization options. It allows the user to apply custom themes, change library display layout, download missing album art (either automatically or manually) and lyrics, play both music and video files and filter songs by title, album, artist, album artist, track, year, genre and comment. Furthermore, PlayerPro has support for the most basic playback effects and offers graphic equalizer with customizable presets. Music can be controlled by gestures or with headset buttons, which is a very handy feature. PlayerPro can scrobble to Last.fm and share the currently played song on Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, Picassa and other social networks.

There are two lockscreen and five different homescreen widgets to choose from. If that’s not enough, you can skip and play/pause playback directly from the notification bar.

You can download and use PlayerPro for free for 10 days. After that, the app will ask you to pay for the full version.

Wiizm is a newcomer to the game of music players. With its quite unique approach to design, it brings the much needed freshness. What jumps out when we look at Wiizm, is the clean and clear layout with fancy blurred background. Various music categories and favourites can be accessed through a sliding menu and support for OpenGL guarantees fluid experience. The app is equipped with various sound effects, graphic equalizer and shuffle/repeat function. Playback can be controlled with either one of three available widgets or directly from the notofication bar and lockscreen. Support for headset button and sleep/wake up timer aren’t missing, too.

Wiizm music player is currently at the beta stage. 15-day trial version enchanced with new features and functionality is expected to be available soon. Until then, you can enjoy it for free, but reckon with possible bugs here and there.

]]>http://theultralinx.com/2013/12/best-music-player-apps-for-android.html/feed05 Great iPhone Games You Can Play With One Hand or Fingerhttp://theultralinx.com/2012/10/5-great-iphone-games-play-hand.html
http://theultralinx.com/2012/10/5-great-iphone-games-play-hand.html#commentsMon, 01 Oct 2012 14:00:09 +0000http://theultralinx.com/?p=27752One button games were so 20-30 years ago. I don’t think anyone thought they would come back so many years later and be as addictive as they are. One touch games have become hugely popular ever since the release of touchscreen phones. Games you can play with one or finger are great for killing some […]

One button games were so 20-30 years ago. I don’t think anyone thought they would come back so many years later and be as addictive as they are. One touch games have become hugely popular ever since the release of touchscreen phones.

Games you can play with one or finger are great for killing some time, whether your on the train, on the bus, waiting for a meeting – they’re a great way to kill little chunks of time. Here is a list of 5 must-have games which you can just play with one hand.

Any gamer will know who Rayman is. This game just very recently launched on the App Store. It’s a very fast paced game where you have to stay pretty sharp. Each level contains coins which you have to collect and you have to explore some of the hidden parts of a level to get 100%.

Tiny Wings is an all time favourite, the cute sounds, cute birds and smooth music makes everyone fall for it. To play this game you simply get the bird across the level as quickly as possible. You do this by tapping the screen to get the bird to go into a nose dive, to slide down and then up a slope into the air, trying to catch as much air as you can.

When Temple Run launched on the App Store it was an instant hit. People seemed to love the idea of a man running away from gorilla like monsters. The game went viral producing millions of downloads very quickly. The main idea behind the game is to get your player to run as far as you can by jumping over obstacles, ducking under obstacles and turning corners. As you go through the level you collect coins which you can use to purchase different characters and power-ups.

This game is from the creators of the all time favourite, Fruit Ninja. It’s highly popular on the App Store with quite a few million downloads already. In this game you have to get the character as far as you can across the level in a jetpack. Along the way you have to avoid many different obstacles such as live electric lines and rockets coming at you.

This game is a pretty old one. It’s been on the App Store for years. However that doesn’t mean it’s not addictive and great fun. Over the years it has evolved, adding a whole load of new features. You can also now get level themes so you can have your level in a ninja theme or horror theme. In this game you have to get the character as high as you can through the level. You jump from platforms to platforms trying to get as high as possible. Along the way you will come across enemies which will try to get in your way and there will be less platforms, making it harder to find a place to jump up from.

These are only five of thousands of games you can play with one hand or finger. There are a lot more out there but these are easily the most popular and well made. Many existing game types such as online slots have been revolutionised due to the ease of being able to play with one finger.

]]>http://theultralinx.com/2012/10/5-great-iphone-games-play-hand.html/feed06 Alternatives to Messaging and Talk | Androidhttp://theultralinx.com/2012/01/alternatives-to-messaging-and-talk.html
http://theultralinx.com/2012/01/alternatives-to-messaging-and-talk.html#commentsSat, 07 Jan 2012 16:00:02 +0000http://theultralinx.com/?p=11930When you first get an Android phone, you are stuck with the default text messaging app and Google Talk app. While these are both good applications, they lack the customisation and additional features many of us seek. For a while I was happy with these stock build applications, but I came to want more from […]

When you first get an Android phone, you are stuck with the default text messaging app and Google Talk app. While these are both good applications, they lack the customisation and additional features many of us seek. For a while I was happy with these stock build applications, but I came to want more from my phone.

One reason for using alternative apps is simply cost. Most smartphone contracts include a data allowance and it would be foolish not to use it. I decided to search for a few alternatives that use to Messaging and Talk that use a data connection and found the Android Market to be full of them.

Please note that I have excluded SMS apps from my list, though many are good, as most add no further functionality, just more options. On with the list…

1. Kik Messenger

Kik is a cross between IM and text messaging. You choose a username to log in, like IM, but after that it is much like a SMS app. You have the option to share images and other media with your friends. The thing I love about Kik is it’s UI. It has a great, almost cartoon feel to it and really encourages communication – essential for this type of app.

2. MiTalk

MiTalk offers everything that other text messaging apps provide and much more. You can share photos, locations, gifts, sketches and more with your friends. There are so many options, it feels much more like a social network than a simple messaging system. This is the one thing that makes it stand out – along with Facebook Messenger.

3. Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger is the most complete way to access your Facebook messages on the go. It provides more than the standard Facebook app’s Chat features – you can see which friends are using their phones and attach images to your messages. You also have the option to share your location with every message so you can let your friends know exactly where you are.

The things that put this app above the stock apps are that:

You can talk to anyone on Facebook so you don’t have to worry about losing phone numbers

You can easily share your location

Pictures can be added to messages from your phone’s camera, gallery or a web search

4. WhatsApp

WhatsApp uses your current mobile phone number to add you to the WhatsApp phonebook. This then allows other people on WhatsApp to send you media-rich messages over a data connection which spares you using units on your contract. I don’t like the UI of the app, but it gets the job done – and very well.

5. Viber

Viber is much like WhatsApp, apart from one small feature. As well as free text and media messaging, Viber offers free calls over a mobile data connection, or Wi-Fi. This means, as long as your friends use Viber, you can talk to them completely free. I personally don’t like the UI of Viber either and found it somewhat unreliable while testing – it took days, in some cases, to receive messages.

6. Skype

Skype is the most popular video chat application available and the Android app is better than all other video chat apps available on the Market, in my opinion. But, is it any good a messaging? Simply, yes! With the latest update, Skype’s messaging integration was improved. You can now share images, videos and all other files from your phone, and all within the sparkling new UI.

The unfortunate truth of all of these services is that none of them are any use unless the people you contact use them too. This is what puts Facebook Messenger above the rest, in my opinion. With over 800 million people on Facebook, it isn’t hard to find and talk to your friends. So, I urge you to choose one service, stick to it, and tell your friends to join you. This is the only way to get these types of services working – within a group of friends.

]]>http://theultralinx.com/2012/01/alternatives-to-messaging-and-talk.html/feed2Top 20 Android Games of 2011http://theultralinx.com/2011/12/top-20-android-games-2011.html
http://theultralinx.com/2011/12/top-20-android-games-2011.html#commentsMon, 19 Dec 2011 19:00:58 +0000http://theultralinx.com/?p=11012With the birth of Android just a few years ago came a new generation of smartphone. Now we are seeing this new platform, and generation, growing at a rapid rate. Thanks to all you Android users out there, over ten billion apps have been downloaded from the Android Market making 2011 the biggest year for […]

With the birth of Android just a few years ago came a new generation of smartphone. Now we are seeing this new platform, and generation, growing at a rapid rate. Thanks to all you Android users out there, over ten billion apps have been downloaded from the Android Market making 2011 the biggest year for Android. It is the downloading of these apps which allows Android and its developers to grow and produce better products for us, so let’s keep downloading!

To celebrate the end of this year and the progress Android has made – with your help! – we have put together our favourite apps and games of this year.

Note:The games below were not selected on the basis of download or ratings, but how playable I found them and how addictive they were. Hopefully this will highlight a few apps to you which you haven’t seen in the charts before. We love all of the games below, and they are in no specific order – I recommend you try them all out!

1. Cut the Rope

Cut the Rope is a unique puzzle game which demands quick thinking and quick actions. Your objective is to feed a cute frog some candy by cutting ropes, popping bubbles and firing air cannons. You are presented with a number of boxes which contain a load of levels each; certainly worth the money.

[app]com.zeptolab.ctr.paid[/app]

2. Fruit Ninja

Fruit Ninja is based on a very simple concept: Your finger is a sword, use it to cut fruit. During the three game modes you have to slice various colourful fruit while avoiding bombs. High-scores gain you new swords and other bonuses to play around with so you can play your way.

[app]com.halfbrick.fruitninja[/app]

3. They Need to be Fed

They Need to be Fed is an innovative twist on the average platform game, mainly because instead of gravity pulling you down, it pulls you in to each platform of the game. In the game, you are a suicidal creature trying to feed himself to them by travelling through a maze of objects while being shot at by rockets and dodging spikes.

[app]com.yoyogames.droidtntbf[/app]

4. Reckless Getaway

Reckless Getaway, the sequel to Reckless Racing, is a new take on the getaway-style game. Not only is there a mode in which you must avoid the cops and collect money – and power-ups! – but you can also play to damage as much of the destructible environment as possible. It’s a great game to let out your cop dodging, car bashing side!

[app]com.polarbit.Getaway[/app]

5. Angry Birds

We all know of this additively simple game. You play the game as some Angry Birds who have had their eggs stolen from them by the mean hungry pigs. You have to fling the Angry Birds from a catapult into the Pigs’ structures and make them pop. You win stars by using as few birds as possible and for the amount of damage you do. Addictive, simple and fun; a perfect game.

[app]com.rovio.angrybirds[/app]

6. Backbreaker Football

If you like the idea of brutality, and to a lesser extent sport, you’ll love Backbreaker. In the game you must battle across the field with a football, dodging the opposing team as you go. Twist and turn to the end of the pitch and don’t forget to celebrate!

[app]com.ideaworks3d.tackle[/app]

7. Samurai II: Vengeance

You are a samurai and have to kill the enemy in order to achieve revenge – or at least that’s the excuse for this wonderfully bloody game. You must strike your enemies with different attacks and move around each environment to reach checkpoints and kill bosses. This is a great game for all those who fancy a little katana wielding on the commute to work.

[app]com.madfingergames.SamuraiIIAll[/app]

8. Brothers in Arms 2 Free+

Brothers in Arms 2 brings the best of FPS gaming to Android, for free. In the game you play as a soldier in the Second World War fighting for America. You can shoot the enemy, through grenades and participate in multi-player matches; all create an impressive gaming experience.

[app]com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftB2HM[/app]

9. Raging Thunder 2

Raging Thunder is a classic Android game. The idea is to compete in races to win credits, power-ups and more. You can compete in in many different locations, from the snowy hills of the North to desert dirt tracks. The game-play is very smooth, even on the slowest phones, so try it out!

[app]com.polarbit.rthunder2[/app]

10. Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation

The Modern Combat series puts you in the eyes of a modern soldier, fighting in various locations across the globe. You play in first person with the action happening right in front of you. The games are at the top of their league and are definitely worth the price tag.

[app]com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftM3HM[/app]

11. Doodle Jump

Doodle jump is another classic arcade-style game. You are the
Doodler and your challenge is to jump up between platforms to get as high as possible. Use power-ups to boost yourself higher and dodge the cracking and moving platforms to get a high score and gain a place on the leader-boards.

[app]com.realarcade.DOJ[/app]

12. Apparatus

Apparatus is a physics game for all you budding inventors out there. Use different blocks and engines to power your own creation or use switches and your knowledge of physics to solve the built-in puzzles. This is an addictive game and I can guarantee you will never get tired of it.

[app]com.bithack.apparatus[/app]

13. 9mm HD

In 9m HD you play a cop who is taking the law into his own hands in order to clean up a crime-ridden city. Shoot, duck and dive in vicious battles with gangs and complete missions across the map.

[app]com.gameloft.android.ANMP.Gloft9MHM[/app]

14. Flight Control

This is another classic smartphone game. You have to land various aircraft, including jets and helicopters, on a number of runways. The cartoon graphics are lovely and make the game even more enjoyable.

[app]com.namcowireless.flightcontrol[/app]

15. Death Worm

I like to think of Death Worm as a pretty big twist on the retro game Snake. You have control of what starts the game as a small worm, but as the game progresses and you eat people, cars, helicopters and a plethora of other things you grow, and so does your score.

[app]com.playcreek.DeathWorm[/app]

16. Spaghetti Marshmallows

Speghetti Marshmallows is a fun physics and puzzle game based on the classic challenge of building a structure with only the two foods. In the game, you must build towers to reach checkpoints. You have to have a marshmallow in each checkpoint coincidentally to pass the level. This is an addictive game, and the bonus free mode which allows you to build your own structures only makes it better.

[app]com.fiffigt.spaghetti.full[/app]

17. Guerrilla Bob

Guerrilla Bob is a comic shoot ‘em up in which you play a mercenary. You must collect money to gain high scores while on your violent travels across the Middle East. Dodge bombs and shoot the enemy to pass to the next level. Overall this is a brilliant game with a hilarious plot.

[app]com.angrymobgames.guerrillabob[/app]

18. Worms

Worms is a wonderful multi-player game which puts you in command of a war hungry, battle hardened unit of worms who, with a hoard of weapons, must obliterate the enemy. You have the option to play against the computer – or phone – to build your tactics before taking on your friends.

[app]com.ea.worms_row[/app]

19. Doodle God

In Doodle God, you play the creator of all things. You must combine the most simple elements to produce even the most complicated things, from cats to love. Your challenge is to create everything in the world – well, all of the few hundred creations available.

[app]joybits.doodlegod[/app]

20. World of Goo

World of Goo is a game of physics and creation, and goo! Your objective is to make a path from your starting position to the finishing point. You must use atom like structures to transfer your little gooey blobs to the finish. The game is extremely fun and once you get into it, you cannot put it down.

[app]com.twodboy.worldofgoofull[/app]

Super Special Bonus Game: Grand Theft Auto III

Just this week, GTA III was released in the Android Market with a great deal of hype. It is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the original console game so we thought we should give it a special mention.

This GTA game brings all the brilliance of the console versions of GTA to Android. You can run around the city committing as many felonies as you want, but beware of your stars. Play through the story mode or mess around the huge city map. The possibilities are virtually endless. Have fun!

[app]com.rockstar.gta3[/app]

By Popular Demand: Where’s My Water

This little puzzle game challenges you to get Swampy, a crocodile, the water for his bath. Cut through rock and follow mazes underground in order to get the water into the pipe for Swampy. The game is based on a very simple concept, but is very addictive and simple to play.

]]>http://theultralinx.com/2011/12/top-20-android-games-2011.html/feed75 Great Physics Games for Androidhttp://theultralinx.com/2011/10/5-great-physics-games-android.html
http://theultralinx.com/2011/10/5-great-physics-games-android.html#commentsMon, 24 Oct 2011 14:00:02 +0000http://theultralinx.com/?p=7475I don’t know if anyone has noticed but physics based games are always a hit on mobile device. They can be implemented easily into little games which become addictive and highly popular, the people behind Angry Birds can confirm this. Angry Birds is the most popular mobile game on the Android market and iOS appstore. […]

I don’t know if anyone has noticed but physics based games are always a hit on mobile device. They can be implemented easily into little games which become addictive and highly popular, the people behind Angry Birds can confirm this. Angry Birds is the most popular mobile game on the Android market and iOS appstore.

Cut The Rope

Cut the Rope is a game all about feeding the little frog type thing with candy. But it’s never as simple as that is it? The candy is always put in an awkward position so you have to work out your own moves on getting that bit of candy in the frogs mouth.

[app]com.zeptolab.ctr.paid[/app]

Paper Toss

This was the first game I ever played on the iPhone before I got an Android device. I remember thinking to myself “OMG this is so freakin’ awesome”, playing it for hours on end trying to beat my mates highscore. The idea is to curl the paper ball into the bin and see how many you could get in a row. Simple but very addictive.

[app]com.bfs.papertoss[/app]

aTilt 3D Labyrinth Free

Labyrinth has been around even before the Android and iOS days, I remember people playing it on their Nokia N devices. The game has been charged up a lot since. The idea of the game was to get a ball through a maze into the jackpot hole. On your way there are obstacles and death traps which get in your way.

[app]com.fridgecat.android.atiltlite[/app]

X Construction

A game which requires attention to detail and an understanding of mechanics. The goal is to build the strongest bridge you can with the parts available. Once you think it is ready you then test it by letting a train go over it.

[app]de.hms.xconstructionfull[/app]

Angry Birds

Now we couldn’t miss out Angry Birds could we. The most popular game on the Android market. The game produces $1 million a month for Rovio, the people behind it, a month from Android alone. Now that is saying something. If you haven’t tried out their Seasons and RIO versions I highly recommend you do.

]]>http://theultralinx.com/2011/10/5-great-physics-games-android.html/feed1Top 5 Apps for Root Usershttp://theultralinx.com/2011/09/top-5-apps-for-root-users.html
http://theultralinx.com/2011/09/top-5-apps-for-root-users.html#commentsMon, 12 Sep 2011 16:00:37 +0000http://theultralinx.com/?p=4404A series where we will showcase the top apps for a certain topic or category. If you would like to see a topic or category we haven’t covered or have any app suggestions send them through to us via Twitter, Facebook or the Tip Us Form. Also if you feel like we have missed out an app, leave it […]

A series where we will showcase the top apps for a certain topic or category. If you would like to see a topic or category we haven’t covered or have any app suggestions send them through to us via Twitter, Facebook or the Tip Us Form. Also if you feel like we have missed out an app, leave it in the comment section below.

After rooting your Android device it can be confusing what to do next. Well we have five apps here which will take advantage of your device once you have rooted. There all apps which will make your Android experience more productive and generally better.

Rom Manager

After rooting your device you can apply custom ROMs. If you do not know what a custom ROM is go here. A great app which will provide you with ROMs is ROM Manager. It has an array of ROMs for many different devices. You can use the app to download a ROM directly to your device and then apply it without having to use a computer.

[app]com.koushikdutta.rommanager[/app]

Titanium Backup

Titanium Backup is an app which you should get without question if you love your apps. This app will backup literally everything on your Android device to your SD card. Crucially it can backup all your apps and settings so when you apply a new ROM or reset your device you can just restore everything to its original state. Make sure to get the PRO version for access to all the features. With the PRO version you can also backup all your stuff to your Dropbox.

[app]com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup[/app]

Root Explorer

Root Explorer is a file manager which lets you access every nook and cranny of your device. It lets you access files which would usually be blocked when you haven’t got your device rooted. It’s the best app to access all those hidden files. It lets you even go right into apps and modify them but this is usually for experienced Android users and devs.

[app]com.speedsoftware.rootexplorer[/app]

SetCPU

Once you have applied a ROM you may also apply a kernal which lets you overclock your device, making it faster and more powerful. This app makes the process of overclocking and underclocking your phone easy. However always be careful with this app because overclocking your device and leaving it overclocked for extended periods of time can make your device extremely hot and kill your battery.

[app]com.mhuang.overclocking[/app]

Quadrant

After rooting your device you will want to find how powerful your Android device is right? This app lets you do that. It carries out tests on your device, working out how your device stacks up against other Android devices out there.

[app]com.aurorasoftworks.quadrant.ui.standard[/app]

If you have any other suggested apps for rooted users make sure to leave them in the comments below!

]]>http://theultralinx.com/2011/09/top-5-apps-for-root-users.html/feed2Top 5 News Apps for Androidhttp://theultralinx.com/2011/09/top-5-news-apps-for-android.html
http://theultralinx.com/2011/09/top-5-news-apps-for-android.html#commentsSat, 10 Sep 2011 19:00:41 +0000http://theultralinx.com/?p=4303A series where we will showcase the top apps for a certain topic or category. If you would like to see a topic or category we haven’t covered or have any app suggestions send them through to us via Twitter, Facebook or the Tip Us Form. Also if you feel like we have missed out an app, leave it […]

A series where we will showcase the top apps for a certain topic or category. If you would like to see a topic or category we haven’t covered or have any app suggestions send them through to us via Twitter, Facebook or the Tip Us Form. Also if you feel like we have missed out an app, leave it in the comment section below.

Reading news on phones is becoming common practice now, due mainly to the convenience and the ability to access news anywhere and everywhere. With this has come an array of news reading apps for the Android platform and it’s hard picking out the best. We have got a list of our top 5 for you right here.

Pulse

Pulse is one of the most popular and one of my favourites. They also feature UltraLinx in their app. You can pack all your favourite news feeds and rss feeds into one app for easy access. It’s a good way to access multiple news sources at once instead of going through each app of each news provider. It also features great websites from all around the web, sorting them into categories so you can look for topics you love most. Due to the popularity of this app, Google themselves have made this an Editor’s Choice.

[app]com.alphonso.pulse[/app]

Taptu

Taptu is very similar to Pulse. Having nearly all the same features but being a UK based company. With it being UK based it has come great news sources related to the UK however they definitely are not missing out on everything else happening around the world. One feature I like most about Taptu is the ability to colour co-ordinate your news feeds.

[app]com.taptu.streams[/app]

Feedly

Feedly is also very similar to Pulse and Taptu however it enables you to have all your feeds from your Google Reader, and it has a beautiful minimalistic interface. It’s definitely one for the minimalists out there, like myself.

[app]com.devhd.feedly[/app]

BBC News

BBC News without question is the best source for news from the UK. It’s actually the 2nd most popular news app from the UK Android Market. It does also feature news from all over the world but with it being a UK based news company it concentrates on news from the UK. Producing quality and direct news for you.

[app]bbc.mobile.news.uk[/app]

Yahoo!

Yahoo! as many people will know curates news from all around the web to bring you the best stuff. It’s seen as a privilege to get your site on the front page of Yahoo!

]]>http://theultralinx.com/2011/09/top-5-news-apps-for-android.html/feed0Top 5 Camera Apps for Androidhttp://theultralinx.com/2011/09/top-5-camera-apps-for-android.html
http://theultralinx.com/2011/09/top-5-camera-apps-for-android.html#commentsWed, 07 Sep 2011 19:27:28 +0000http://theultralinx.com/?p=4140A series where we will show case the top apps for a certain topic or category. If you would like to see a topic or category we haven’t covered or have any app suggestions send them through to us via Twitter, Facebook or the Tip Us Form. Also if you feel like we have missed out an app, leave […]

A series where we will show case the top apps for a certain topic or category. If you would like to see a topic or category we haven’t covered or have any app suggestions send them through to us via Twitter, Facebook or the Tip Us Form. Also if you feel like we have missed out an app, leave it in the comment section below.

With cameras in literally all Android phones why not take advantage of them and use them to their full potential with the top 5 most popular camera apps for Android phones.

Note: In no particular order

FxCamera

FxCamera is personally my favourite camera app for the Android platform. It also seems to be popular with other Android users because it has clocked in over 10 million downloads. It doesn’t have as many effects or options as some others out there but the effects that it does come with are great. Also it’s completely free, not like some others out there.

[app]ymst.android.fxcamera[/app]

Vignette

Vignette is one of the most feature rich out of all the camera apps out there for the Android platform. It has over 84 different effects and 59 frames so you can frame your masterpieces. It also supports full resolution of your camera, unlike FxCamera.

[app]uk.co.neilandtheresa.NewVignette[/app]

Retro Camera

Retro Camera, as you guessed it, takes retro style pictures. There are 5 sets of effects which will add cool retro and vintage looks to your pics. The only thing I don’t like about this app is the small view finders.

[app]org.urbian.android.tools.vintagecam[/app]

Camera360

Camera360 is just like Vignette but it isn’t as popular. It doesn’t have as many effects as Vignette but the UI is lovely to work around and use. Just make sure you close the app properly so it doesn’t eat up your battery in the background.

[app]vStudio.Android.Camera360[/app]

PicPlz

PizPlz is the Instagram for Android, but it just didn’t blow up like Instagram. It’s a photo sharing network where you upload pics to share with your followers. It allows you to take pics and then import them, add effects then upload.

Tower Defense

I find Tower Defense the most addictive game on my iPad. I love strategy games and this at the moment is my favourite, due to graphics, gameplay and flow. If anyone has any suggestions for any other strategy games please let me know in the comments!

iReddit

iReddit enables you to now go trolling behind your iPad screen ;). But anyway, if you like browsing iReddit like I do this app is perfect. You can log in and it will show you your favourite sections at the launch screen. Just don’t fuel those ugly trolls.

Fancy

Fancy is for people who just love good looking stuff. It curates stuff from all around the web. You can make your own account, submit your own content, “fancy” stuff and share stuff with your friends on Twitter and Facebook. It’s great eye candy.

Read It Later

Read It Later is a very popular app which enables you to save articles for offline reading. Being a blogger I always find articles on my iPad which I want to write about. Saving them with Read It Later enables me to find them when I go back onto my computer.

Celsius

Celsius is a cool little app which you can just leave on your homescreen and will tell you the current temperature in your selected area. You can also go into the app and look at the weather for the next week. There is a fahrenheit version also.

]]>http://theultralinx.com/2011/08/favourite-ipad-apps-ultralinx.html/feed4Top Security Apps for Androidhttp://theultralinx.com/2011/08/top-security-apps-android.html
http://theultralinx.com/2011/08/top-security-apps-android.html#commentsFri, 12 Aug 2011 13:38:27 +0000http://theultralinx.com/?p=2622A series where we will show case the top apps for a certain topic or category. If you would like to see a topic or category we haven’t covered or have any app suggestions send them through to us via Twitter, Facebook or the Tip Us Form. Also if you feel like we have missed out an app, leave […]

A series where we will show case the top apps for a certain topic or category. If you would like to see a topic or category we haven’t covered or have any app suggestions send them through to us via Twitter, Facebook or the Tip Us Form. Also if you feel like we have missed out an app, leave it in the comment section below.

With mobile security quickly becoming a hot topic for hackers and developers alike, a reliable anti-virus application is a must for your smartphone. As an open-source platform, Android is particularly vulnerable to security threats so I’ve lined up a few good applications to keep your device safe.

There are many security applications available for Android and even the unknown ones can outperform the biggest names so if you know of any applications that you believe are better than the ones below, please let everyone know in the comments section.

Bitdefender Mobile Security

Bitdefender is a very light security application for Android. It pulls virus definitions from the cloud to reduce the space it consumes on the device and the impact it has on the device’s battery- this makes it very fast and light. Bitdefender offers features such as scanning applications and SD card to detect malware and even remote wiping and tracking of the phone if it is lost. While it provides automatic “install scanning” and scanning new SD cards, Bitdefender also has “on-demand” scanning. Bitdefender can also keep you safe on the web with its ‘safe browsing’ feature. Overall, it is a fully-functioned, light-weight, reliable and slick security application.

Lookout Mobile Security

Lookout is a very popular and well developed security application for Android. It focuses on three main ways to protect your phone; protect, find and save. The application provides the ability to scan all applications installed on the device and detect if they are malicious. If the device is lost, Lookout can track it via GPS and make it emit a buzzing noise. The app also allows content on the device to be backed up and restored later or to another phone. A premium account also allows you to remotely lock the device, backup photos and call history and also includes the new ‘safe browsing’ feature. Lookout is a very stable and reliable application with great support from a big developer.

Anti-Virus from AVG

AVG has been in the anti-virus business for some time now. They have several security applications available for Android but I am going to focus on the free anti-virus application. It offers apps, settings, files, and media scanning to find malicious files in real time along with features to find and protect a stolen device; you can locate your lost or stolen phone via Google maps, backup and restore all your valuable apps and data and lock and wipe your device. AVG also offers a safe browsing feature.

Norton Mobile Security

Norton is another big name in the security business. Their Security application for Android- Norton Mobile Security (Beta)- has similar features to the applications mentioned before. It’s scans apps for malware, detects and removes spam texts and detects malicious files on the SD card. It also automatically nlocks annoying and unwanted calls. Norton allows you to locate, lock and wipe a stolen or lost phone. Built in to the app is a smart safe browsing feature which blocks phishing website.

McAfee Mobile Security

Yet another big name in the world of security. McAfee’s mobile application also contains the features that appear to be standard for premium applications; guarding against spyware and malware, locking and wiping a lost or stolen device, backing up and restoring data, locating and tracking your phone and safe browsing.

]]>http://theultralinx.com/2011/08/top-security-apps-android.html/feed0Top Web Browser Apps for Androidhttp://theultralinx.com/2011/08/top-web-browser-apps-android.html
http://theultralinx.com/2011/08/top-web-browser-apps-android.html#commentsSun, 07 Aug 2011 16:34:35 +0000http://theultralinx.com/?p=2237A series where we will show case the top apps for a certain topic or category. If you would like to see a topic or category we haven’t covered or have any app suggestions send them through to us via Twitter, Facebook or the Tip Us Form. Also if you feel like we have missed out an app, leave […]

A series where we will show case the top apps for a certain topic or category. If you would like to see a topic or category we haven’t covered or have any app suggestions send them through to us via Twitter, Facebook or the Tip Us Form. Also if you feel like we have missed out an app, leave it in the comment section below.

The stock Android browser is quite limited when it comes to options, features and add-ons. It definitely does the job but a lot of power Android users like to get the most out of their browsers.

Opera Mini Web Browser

Opera is the most popular web browser for the Android platform. It is a very fast web browser because of the unique technique Opera use. When you browse the net Opera servers actually compress the data on a page making the data smaller so it gets to your device quicker. This will not only make web browsing faster, it will also save you data when using 3G. Opera say it uses a tenth of the data compared to normal browsers.

Dolphin Browser HD

Dolphin Browser HD is known for the huge selection of add-ons which no browser can even come close to. It features options such as gestures and webzine. Webzine is a cool feature which re-organizes a web page into a sort of magazine look for easy reading.

Skyfire

Skyfire is a browser with a lot more of a social touch. It has deep Facebook integration which has a unique feature which lets you find out what is the most popular post or page within the Facebook community.

Firefox

Firefox for Android is the official version of their Firefox browser for the Android platform. There isn’t much about this browser except from that you can sync between your desktop version and Android version.

]]>http://theultralinx.com/2011/08/top-web-browser-apps-android.html/feed3Top Twitter Apps for Androidhttp://theultralinx.com/2011/08/top-twitter-apps-android.html
http://theultralinx.com/2011/08/top-twitter-apps-android.html#commentsMon, 01 Aug 2011 17:00:16 +0000http://theultralinx.com/?p=1821A series where we will show case the top apps for a certain topic or category. If you would like to see a topic or category we haven’t covered or have any app suggestions send them through to us via Twitter, Facebook or the Tip Us Form. Also if you feel like we have missed […]

A series where we will show case the top apps for a certain topic or category. If you would like to see a topic or category we haven’t covered or have any app suggestions send them through to us via Twitter, Facebook or the Tip Us Form. Also if you feel like we have missed out an app, leave it in the comment section below.

Official Twitter App

The official Twitter app is obviously the first one to go for if you’re looking to use Twitter usually without any add-ons. It does all the basic Twitter functions which you would be used to and has some neat UI elements. I personally like the official Twitter app and use it as my main tweeting tool. Recently it has been updated to support multiple accounts which is always a bonus.

Tweetdeck

Tweetdeck is a very well known Twitter client and is usually used by the power users out there. It features nice columns where you can assign a column to timeline, mentions, lists…etc. It also has Facebook and Foursquare integration so you can have three big names in social networks within one app. The UI is great, with a dark theme which simply shows the content you want.

Seesmic

Seesmic is just like Tweetdeck with the support for Twitter and Facebook accounts. However it lays out it’s sections such as mentions and timeline in tabs. I love the UI of Seesmic and how minimal it is. It also tells you how many times a tweet has been retweeted which I really like, even if it is a little thing which others may not care about.

Tweetcaster

Tweetcaster is a very popular twitter client for Android and is used by a lot of the Android community. I’m personally not a fan of the app and how it is designed but I guess it is all down to preference.

Twidroyd

Twidroyd is also another very popular twitter client for the Android platform. Famous tech sites such as Engadget named it “Best Twitter App”. Again I am personally not a fan of the UI of the app but functionality is great just like the other Twitter apps mentioned.